February 2013

As part of King County Executive Dow Constantine's State of the County address on Feb. 4, the local leader presented a plan to "connect military veterans and their families to benefits they've earned," in addition to speaking on gun violence, renewable energy and health care reform.

The full 2013 State of the County address is now available online.

Here are the details from Constantine's office:

Three local veterans named as special advisors for outreach planning

Four of every ten veterans say they have little or no understanding of their benefits or how to access them. Increasing knowledge of those benefits, facilitating access to those services, and improving coordination across service systems are the goals of a new Regional Veterans Initiative unveiled today by King County Executive Dow Constantine.

Press release:

In a dramatic departure from the traditional paper newsletter, the city of Des Moines is pleased to announce the introduction of its own glossy-format magazine “City Currents.” The four-color glossy format of the new magazine will allow the city to highlight its spectacular scenery, and feature editorial content and style to engage readership.

“This is a phenomenal opportunity to promote our community, capitalize on taxpayer assets, and reaffirm to all of us in Des Moines why we choose to live in one of the very most beautiful places in the world,” said Mayor Dave Kaplan.

Philips Publishing Group has been selected to produce the redesigned Des Moines City Currents Magazine and Rec’n Roll recreation brochure, the city’s front line source for communicating with Des Moines residents.

Philips Publishing will redesign the magazine, handle all distribution and administrative functions, and employ dedicated sales staff to generate advertising revenue sufficient to underwrite the costs of production. The city will retain ownership, and all editorial control.

Get off of my cloud
A husband and wife were driving along in late January when the woman pulled out her iPhone and realized her contacts had been erased, and replaced with names she did not know. She called Apple support and they told her that the changes must have been made to her laptop, which is connected to the phone through a data “cloud.” When the couple returned to their 46th Ave. S.W. home they discovered the woman’s MacBook Pro laptop was stolen, along with her husband’s iPad. The woman called a (redacted) name on the new contact list to inquire if they knew anything about the theft. The male on the other end was of no help.

Brutal beating; no leads

For Dawn Tessandore, her farewell tour as head gymnastics coach at Highline High School has showcased numerous highlights.

On Friday, Feb. 1, the featured event came in the form of a championship at Mount Rainier High School.

Scoring 151.275 points, the Pirates easily plundered their opposition to capture the 2013 Seamount League gymnastics title and an automatic team berth to the Feb. 9 Class 2A/3A bi-district meet at Mount Rainier High School.

Lindbergh notched 141.25 points as the second team qualifier. Renton reached 130.075 for third place and Hazen posted 125.8 for fourth. John F. Kennedy Catholic (119.575), Tyee (106.425) and Evergreen of White Center (101.225) rounded out the seven-team challengers.

"It was a great meet," she expounded. "I couldn't be prouder. The whole team showed up and stepped up besides Kristen (Rodal) and Mia (Alvarez). We have an outside shot at (a state qualifying) third place at district. Sticking (landings) on the bars is one thing we can improve. We also need to do a little clean up on the beam and bars. The vault and floor were good."

By Kyra-lin Hom

Ow. Ow. No seriously, ow. Forgive me if I seem a bit off my game this week. Earlier today I had my first tattoo removal session. Then I thought, “well I had to take the day off work anyway so...” and rescheduled my upcoming laser hair removal appointment for an hour after that. Apparently, I decided today was the day to point burning lasers at my skin. You know, why not, right? So I must apologize for any wooziness of mine that may bleed through into my writing here.

By Georgie Bright Kunkel

Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes it comes home to haunt you. But as we all know, life is not 100 percent proof positive. I found that out when my travel agent daughter helped my friend and me plan a two week sun escape to Maui. This special island is known to be one of the pleasantest places to sun on a warm beach or go whale watching. Don’t ask me how whales know to venture clear from Alaska to find the shelter of this island paradise but they do. Mothers come there to give birth and males know that even though they won’t be eating all the time they are there, the females provide an attraction that cannot be denied.

The first week I interrupted our sunning on the beach by calling my health care provider to get medical advice. That didn’t totally dampen the joy of never having to wear a jacket outdoors or walking on the sandy beach looking out at the cruise ship moored just offshore. Passenger boats flitted back and forth as water birds scuttled along the shallow tide waters and children dug holes in the sand play acting about living in castles.